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Get Ready for Your Newest Comedy Obsession: Welcome to Sweden From Greg Poehler

After spending 20 hilarious minutes with Amy Poehler's younger brother, Greg (he's 39, she's 42), I told him that when my parents and I go on a cruise to the Baltic this summer, we'll be taking a day trip to see him in Sweden. In actuality, our ship doesn't even stop in Sweden, but Greg is that fun, I figured he's totally worth the trip. Luckily for all of us, we don't need to go to Sweden to catch his new show, which is premiering here in the States on NBC tonight. As Greg puts it, "I want it to be somebody’s favorite show, even if it’s just one person. And then I want to hang out with that person." [Laughs]

Well, Greg, be careful what you wish for because you're about to get a whole lot of people who want to hang out with you. The comedy, which is based on Greg's life, follows him as he packs up his life in New York City and starts anew in Stockholm with his new bride. "When you give up everything for this person," Greg asks, "what happens when you do?" Well, hilarity ensues for one, thanks to the comedic talents of Greg and familiar faces such as Patrick Duffy, Lena Olin, Illeana Douglas, and cameos from sister Amy, Will Ferrell, Aubrey Plaza, and others. At the NBC Summer Press Tour in Pasadena, I made Greg spill all about that and so much more.

Glamour: As much as we think we know about your sister, Amy, your life is equally as fascinating. Greg Poehler: Well, here I was a trademark, copyright, and patent lawyer in New York the sexy, cool kid. [Laughs] And then I moved to Sweden eight years ago with my wife. We got married in Sweden. I worked at this company that was all American lawyers that married Swedes basically.

Glamour: Why did you decide to name your character Bruce instead of going by Greg?Greg: I’ve always wanted to be a Bruce. I’ve always wanted to walk into a party and people say, "Bruuuuuuce." Like a chant! I’ve been using that name for when I order food or am at Starbucks, but now I realize that since my show debuted in Sweden in March, I can't do that anymore.

Glamour: What's crazy is that after eight years in Sweden, you totally have an accent now.Greg: I feel like I’m a man between two worlds at this point. I don’t fit in anywhere. I’m a misfit in both places. It’s a weird by-product. People are like, "What kind of accent is that? Is that your own personal accent?" It’s a hybrid accent!

Glamour: Were you ever interested in performing growing up?Greg: Amy and I were very similar, especially our comedic sensibilities and tastes. There was time when I was 18, and Amy had gone off to Chicago and I was going to try out for her improv group. She was performing at Second City, and it was her, Tina Fey, Adam McKay, Horatio Sanz, and Second City main-stagers like Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert. I saw them and thought, These people are amazing! I will never be this good! And here they are nobodies! They are waiters and waitresses. It was very discouraging because they were so good, but they were bottom of the barrel. Then, over the next 10 years, every person I saw over that weekend became a comedy legend! So I thought I just missed [the boat]. It’s difficult when you’re in your thirties and have an established job and a family to say, "I want to be an actor!" I mean, where do you start?Glamour: So where did you start?Greg: I started doing stand-up two and a half years ago. That was the start, and it went really well. It was something I always wanted to do and thought I’d be good at it. And then I started writing.

Glamour: How did the show come about?Greg: I wrote the script in my attic two years ago on a snowy winter Stockholm day. I wrote that I wanted the show to be sold in both the U.S. and Sweden and have a bunch of cameos and was just kind of dreaming big. Oh, and I want to play the lead role. [Laughs] I mean, why not?! Just go for it. And now it's huge in Sweden. And it’s going to be on NBC here. I mean, wow, what the f--k?! How does that happen?

Glamour: Were you an outgoing kid?Greg: One of the hard things about having a sister in the industry was that people would always say, "We thought you’d be the one..." People mean well when they say that, but basically they’re saying, "Wow, you’re quite the failure!" or "Your sister is an actress, how come you’re not an actor?" You don’t get that in any other profession. You don’t hear, "Oh, your brother is a dentist, how come you’re not a dentist?" So that’s why this happening was such a weirdly emotional thing for me. When we shot the pilot, I sat on a plane to come back to the States for Thanksgiving, and I started crying—like uncontrollably crying. The flight attendant came over and was like, "Is there anything I can help you with?" and I’m like, "I got my own TV show!"

Glamour: That's amazing. What's the best advice Amy has given you?Greg: She tells me "less is more. Underplay everything." The tendency, especially if you’re trying to be funny, is to be big, so I underacted. Also, just enjoy it. And don’t sleep with the craft-services guy. For her, this whole thing is surreal.

Glamour: You have three kids. Do they watch the show?Greg: Yes! They are a little confused why I’m kissing somebody else on-screen. I just tell them it’s Daddy at work. Then they say, "Does Mommy get to kiss people at work?" and I say, "No! But why, what have you heard?" [Laughs]

Glamour: Your wife is still working as a corporate lawyer in Sweden. How did you know that she was The One?Greg: The first night we met, she said to me, "Would you ever consider moving to Sweden?" and I said, "Yeaaaah." I was just trying to have sex with her! [Laughs] I wasn’t even sure where Sweden was. I had to go home and look it up on a map! My philosophy on love is that if it is The One, whatever the circumstances are, you’ll figure it out. There’s nothing too difficult to overcome. So we kind of worked backwards, like "We’re definitely going to be together, now how do we do that?" It’s difficult when you have people from two different countries. I mean, you try to compromise as much as possible, but one person is making more of the sacrifice.

Glamour: You have cameos from Will Ferrell, Aubrey Plaza, etc. They didn’t fly to Sweden to film, right?Greg: No, they did. Will’s wife is Swedish, so he is there for the summer, and Aubrey had a Swedish exchange student boyfriend once in high school, so she wanted to come. Gene Simmons was on tour in Stockholm and even came on it. Although Amy’s stuff we filmed in New York.

Glamour: When Amy started to hit it big, who is the one person that she had either worked with or met that you were like, "Oh my God, my sister knows this person, I really want to meet them now."Greg: Well, Britney Spears was hosting SNL one time, and I went to the after-party. I think it was around the time that she and Timberlake were breaking up, so he was there as well and they were like 17 years old at the time. So having a front-row seat to a high-school breakup was fun. [Laughs] I met a lot of people and saw a lot of things [during Amy's time on SNL]. I think that’s why I got my own show—I have a lot of dirt on people!

Glamour: Amy and Tina will host the Golden Globes in 2015. For 2016, I’m thinking it should be you and Amy.Greg: Of course! I’ll do anything, I’m an entertainment whore! I’ll do it for much less money that what she costs them!

Welcome to Sweden premieres tonight on NBC at 9 P.M./8 P.M. CT.

Photos: Ben Cohen/NBC; Paul Drinkwater/NBC; David Einar/NBC

Jessica RadloffWest Coast entertainment writer. Always trying to make each interview more fun than the last. Obsessed with the St. Louis Cardinals, Scott Speedman, Sprinkles cupcakes--and apparently the letter S.